1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically weighing and sorting objects by their weight and distributing the same into specified locations. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring portions of meat within a certain weight range and separately depositing each in an appropriate collection bin for a predetermined weight range.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the fast-food industry, there has recently arisen a large demand for deboned chicken breasts. It is important that these pieces of meat be sorted and separated by weight. This is generally accomplished by individuals, each having an individual scale and a selection of bins in front of him. Each piece of meat is placed on a scale, weighed and tossed into the appropriate bin. This is labor-expensive and time-consuming.
Known in the art are certain mechanisms for sorting by weight. The most pertinent of these appears to be U.S. Pat. No. 1,199,184 to Hubmann, which discloses a fruit grader having means for selectively discharging fruit by weight. A plurality of individual containers ride on a wheel-like frame mounted to turn about a vertical shaft. The apparatus is provided with a mechanism for sizing the fruit by weight and selectively discharging the fruit from individual cups so as to group all fruit of the same grade and size into the same final container. Each individual cup is biased to remain in its upright position when empty. Upon placing fruit in the cup, the cup shifts slightly from its upright position, thereby placing an arm into position to encounter one of a number of curved bars mounted below the frame. Since the amount of tipping of the individual cups depends upon the weight of the individual piece of fruit, when the cup travels around the turntable, it encounters a differently positioned curved bar depending upon how far the cup is tipped. Upon encountering the bar, the arm actuates tipping of the cup by releasing a catch thereon, thereby depositing the fruit into an appropriately placed container. After depositing the fruit, the cup returns to its upright position simply by action of gravity on a weight mounted on a balance arm at the opposite end of the cup.
Other mechanisms are known for selective weighing and grading. These include U.S. Pat. No. 2,178,203 to Fausel. The apparatus includes a plurality of cup-shaped containers which traverse a closed loop path. Each container is tipped at a specific point along the loop, corresponding to the weight of the object contained in the container, thereby depositing its contents into a selected, appropriate container. The mechanism comprises a right-hand extension of an arm as shown in FIG. 9 of that patent having on its end a block which only covers a portion of the rod. Based on the weight of the object in the pan, the rod will tip about a pivot point to ride in one of a plurality of grooves. Each of these grooves has a pin extending radially outward therefrom at spaced intervals along the groove corresponding to the placement of the depository containers. As the rod rides into one of the grooves, the arm on the rod engages with the pin, turning the rod against the action of a counterweight to tip the cup to deposit the object in the appropriate container. As the rod continues further down the groove, the action of the counterweight swings the cup back to an upright position.
A further apparatus for selectively weighing and depositing objects is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,901 to Roth. This apparatus is a mechanism including a plurality of pans riding along a single rail wherein each pan with an object therein is held in an upright position by a rod which is caught in a groove on a circular disc mounted on a frame. The frame is suspended by a coil spring from a trolley riding on the rail. The weight of the object in the pan stretches the spring further, the heavier the object is. At various points along the rail, fingers are stationarily provided having different lengths. As the pan travels past a particular pin, the rod engages the finger. Upon this engagement, the rod is released from the groove in the disc, allowing the disc to rotate whereupon the pan tips, dumping the object into the desired container below. The action of the spring on the disc returns the pan to the upright position.
Also known is U.S. Pat. No. 2,244,826 to Cox which discloses a device for sorting objects by color. This apparatus includes an electromagnetic ejector mechanism which operates in conjunction with a color-sensing circuitry and a delay circuitry which provides electronically for the color of the object to be sensed in the sensing chamber and thereafter travel further around before being pushed from a cup by a desired one of a plurality of ejector hammers.
All of the above apparatuses have the disadvantage that they are complex to manufacture and difficult to clean. In the food processing industry, simplicity of mechanism and ease of cleaning are important considerations.